Toy



TOY

2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 14, 1930 35 INVENTOR 4 Q'amuel Z Ziezyer ATTORNEY April 26, 1932. s. I. BERGER 1,855,702

TOY

Filed July 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 an F3.

INVENTOR Samuel Zfier er ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 26, 1932 PATENT OFFICE SAMUEL 1. BERGER, or NEWARK, new JERSEY Application filed. J'uly 14, 1930. Serial No. 467,670.

This invention relates generally to motor operated toys, and more particularly to selfpropelled wheeled toys. l l

While certain features of; thepresent in- 5 vention are broadly applicable "to" various types of toys, the invention is particlularly adapted to self-propelled wheeled toys simulating an automobile or like vehicle, and in which figures illustrative of passengers are mounted.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled vehicle'in which the operation of a simple spring motor provides exaggerated and grotesque representai tion of the antics of a poorly functioning and antiquated automobile, the obvious uncertain manoeuvres of which strongly appeal to the imagination of both juvenile and adult operators, to render the toy highly amusing and captivating.

Another object is to provide a self-propelled toy which will, upon unwindingof a spring motor, intermittently propel itself, and between the interims of propulsion, violently vibrate in simulation of a poorly operated and/or poorly functioning or freak automobile. Y

A further object is to provide a self-pro; polled toy vehicle which during the driving operation will be vibrated in conjunction with the propulsion thereof in realistic representation, for instance, of an automobile operating with a flat tire. V 7

Another object is to provide in a toyvehicle, a vehicle body rockably mounted with respect to its ground engaging supports so V the body and independently thereoffthese vibrations being of greater amplitude than the vibrations of the vehicle, so as to accentuate the vehicle vibrations.

A further object is to provide a propelling and vibrating unit for toy vehicles pivotally mounted and arranged to intermittently propel the body and to vibrate the body between the propelling interims.

Another object is to provide a spring motor assembly for use in toy vehicles, which is so constructed and so supported as to withstand unusual jar and vibration of the vehicle body with which it is associated.

An0ther object is to provide an improved Winding mechanism for a spring motor, by the provision of which moving parts within the motor casing are avoided during the winding operation. d

Other objects are to provide a device in" which the foregoing desiderata are accomplished in a novel, simple and efficient construction which gives an impression of frailty and untrustworthiness, while in reality providing-an efiicient, durable and economical structure.

In onepreferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the drawings, a chassis, the side portions of which are cut and bent to simulate wheel fenders, is provided. The chassis provides pivotal mounting for a front wheel assembly, while the body of the chassis is apertured to receive therethrough a motor whichis rockably supported fromthe chassis. Associated with the motor a wheel mounting carriageis provided, the arrangement being such as toprovide for rocking of the chassis with respect to the wheels and with respect to the motor.

For-vibrating the chassis, means carried by the motor shaft moves the carriage to break the driving'connection between the motor 85 and the wheels, and to; establish driving con nection for a vibrator which engages a'portionof the chassis or body to impart vibration thereto. "w

' The chassis has mounted thereon a replica of a disreputable automobile body, from the seats of which figures are mounted leaf springs, the arrangement being such that. vibrations of the chassis,both while thetoy is being propelledand while being vibrated, impart vibration 'ofgreater amplitude 1 and of various angles to thefiguresso that the latter seemto-be-severely jounced about during operation ofthe toy. g 1" In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features ofthe invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the toy illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal horizontal: section taken on lines 3'3 of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on lines elf-4: of Fig. 2 and illustrating the movement of the body by the dotted line-position.

Fig. 5 is a detail longitudinal section show.- ing the position of the driving gear when the body is being vibrated.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6'6 of Fig. 2 showing-the mounting of the figures.

Fig. 7 is'a detail section showing thespring retainer for the motor,.and

Fig. 8 isa vertical section on lines 8-8 of Fig. 3 and illustrating the winding assembly of the motor;

The numeral 10 of the drawings designates a chassis cut, bent and formed to provide mud guards, and tootherwise depict a normal vehicle chassis. The-chassis 10 supports a body, the lower edge of the sections of which include tongues which are receivable through. registering apertures of the. chassis to fixedly secure the body upon the chassis. The body is of such design as to'represcnt a dilapidated and time worm model of a standard makeof automobile'which has for a long time been popular as a low pricedcar. It will be understood that thebody may be suitably decorated to further bring out these representations The body isformed by a forward hood section 11, the front end of which is closed by a radiator 12. The ,hood supports a bracket 13 which may mount an ornament such as the horse shoe 14. Windshield, cowl and headlights are formed by an apron. or cowl piece 15 secured on the hood. and extending upwardly therefrom to form windshield frame 15A, along the upper and lower rails 16A of which tongues 16 are provided which are received through and secure a transparent piece 17, representing a glass windshield. The forward edge of the piece 15 includes vertically' bent cup-shaped members 18 representing headlights. From one edgeof-the windshield a tab 19 extends whichis in the configuration of, and suitably painted to i1- lustrate,: a meter as commonly used on taxicabs. securement of the cowl piece is provided for by a central tongue 18A thereof, which passes through and is bent against the 'underside'of the hood 1L, and by upstanding tongues 18B carried by the rearwardly extending sides 18C of the hood, the arrange 'ment providingan ingenious assembly for firmlylocking the'parts in assembled position and for providing economic manufacturing details.

The main portion of the body is identified by the numeral 20 and is so cut and bent (and preferably painted) to depict a high set ungainly body with one door missing, as dis tinct from a low set stream line body of modern design. The various body portions referred to are joined together as well as to the chassis to provide a rigid sturdy structural assembly, despite its worn appearance.

The front and rear seats of the vehicle are formed by independent transversely extending members 21 and 22 respectively, the back of the front seat extending over the forward edge of the rear seat to form a substantially continuous floor for the body. On the rear of the body a piece 23 is attached in simulation of an empty'tire rack.

Mounted from the seats, figures 24 are provided, the figure on the front seat supporting a steering wheel and representing a man in straineddriving position. The figure on the rear seat represents a passenger with legs crossed and in a position of ease and tranquility. Both the figures are supported from the seats by spring leaves 25, the seat ends of which are received for securement through slits'25A inthe seat. The opposite ends diverge from the seat to be received through similarslits 2iA of base members of the figures. sponse to vibration of the body. The supporting leaf springs of the figures are transversely'fiexible as well as longitudinally flexible, thus providing for vibration of the figures in multiform direction and wave motion and at greater amplitude than the imparting Vibration of the body.

The front orsteering wheels 26 of the vehi'cle are mounted upon an axle 27 supported at an angle to a transverse plane of the vehicle by a frame 28 pivotally connected by a rivet to a tongue 29 struck up from the bottom of the chassis at its forward end. The pivotal connection of the front wheel assembly is such as to circularly direct the vehicle upon propulsion thereof andis further arranged to-permit rocking or oscillation of the chassis with respect to the floor southat the body may vibrate while the front wheels are in their normal position on a supportingsurface.

For propulsion a combined rear wheel and motor assembly is provided, mounted through a central rear aperture of the chassis and supported for oscillating movement upon a longitudinally extending supporting pin 30.

The assembly includes a spring motor unit embodying a series of speed increasing gears 81, the gear train acting as a substantial fly wheel-to limit the speed at which the motor may be operated. The motor spring (not shown) is secured to the housing at one end, while the opposite end is directly connected to 'a main winding and driving shaft 82, which extends beyond the vehicle body to The figures may thus vibrate in reterminate in a winding key 32a. Loosely spring fingers move outwardly from the apertures of the gear to permit relative movementof the disc with respect to the gear, while in unwinding operation the extremities of the spring fingers are received in the apertures of the gear to move the gear with the unwinding of the motor. housing washer 35 isalso provided, the edges of which embrace'the gear and receive therein the spring fingers to conceal and protect them. This novel arrangement of winding construction provides a completely protected winding assembly which is distinct from conventional assemblies now in use by providing means in which the relative longitudinal movement of parts during the winding operation is avoided.

For restraining the motor assembly from oscillation with respect to the body, a spring leaf 36 (Fig. 7) is provided which is carried by the chassis and which extends rearwardly to be received through an aperture in a struck out ear 37 on one face of the motor housing.

The rear driving wheels 38 of the assembly are mounted upon anaxle 39 supported by a U shaped carriage 40, which is pivotally mounted over the motor casing asbythe transverse pin 40A, the legs of the U being apertured near the bottom to receive therethrough the axle'39. Between the legs, the axle is provided with a gear 41 which intermittently engages the driving gear 33, thus to drive the axle and propel the vehicle. The ends of the axle are bent from the straight gear bearing central portion, whereby the wheels are eccentrically mounted'with respect to the axis of the axle and thus rotation of the axle will give the vehicle oscillatory movement during this propulsion. The weight of that portion of the vehicle supported by the rear wheels will be seen to pivotally urge the wheel carriage with its lower portion forward whereby the gear 41 will be normally engaged by the driving gear 33 to rotate the wheels and propel the vehicle.

For pivotally moving the carriage as the toy is operated, the main shaft 32 is provided with a cam 44, which is adapted to strike a projection 45 of the carriage to rock it in clockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 5 whereby the gear 41 will be moved from the driving gear and propulsion of the vehicle will cease. The carriage itself is provided with an open elongated slot 44a, which receives therethrough the shaft 32, so

A disc shaped that the carriagemay move with respect to the shaft and without interference.

The sides of the carriage extend beyond the upper edges of themotor plates, the extremities of the legs being provided with a transverseshaft 46 carrying gear47. Upon tilting of the carriage by the cam, the gear 47 will be engaged with the driving gear 33 to rotate the shaft 46. Theouter end of the shaft is provided with a star wheel 48 and upon such rotation the points of the star wheel intermittently strike a transverse bar 49 carried by the body to violently oscillate the body in the interim's between propulsions of the vehicle. It will be noted that during the operation of the motor, the axle gear or star wheel gear will one or the other he at all times engaged with the driving gear, and that simultaneous engagement of both will be impossible. It will be noted that the forward portion of the carriage includes a finger 50 which acts to limit the carriages pivotal movement. c

For controlling the operation of the motor, a pivotal controllever 51 is mounted on one of the motor plates. The lower end of the control lever is provided with a protrusion'52 which is engageable with a cooperating protrusion of the plate, thus to lock the lever against accidental movement. The opposite end of the lever extends through the motor aperture of the chassis to terminate in a handle adjacent the forward figure of the body and in representation of a gear shifting lever. Adjacent the pivoted portion of the handle a rearwardly extending gear engaging finger 54 is provided, which, upon rearward movement of the upper end of the lever, is received between the teeth of one of the gears of the speed-increasing gear train and which thus locks the motor-against rotation.

In the operation of the device it will be seen that when the motor is wound and the shift lever moved forwardly, the rear wheel carriage will be in a position indicated in Fig. 2 and the motor will thus operate to rotate the rear axle and propel the vehicle. It will be noted that during such propulsion the angular construction of the rear axle prov-ides for an oscillation of the vehicle, such oscillation being sufiicient to give the figures vibration as to simulate olting of the motor vehicle, as though due to a fiat tire. As the vehicle is propelled, the main shaft is rotated and the cam 44 is moved to tilt the carriage to assume the position as shown in Fig. 5. By this movement the gear 47 is moved into enmeshment with the'driving gear 33 and the star wheel is rotated to successively strike the transverse rodlof the body and substitute the forward propulsion of the vehicle by a continued violent oscillation of the body with respect to its'supporting wheels. The violent vibration thus imparted will give to the'figures by their resilient actionsa wild jolting which apparatus in its action attains the vari- Ous objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical'use.

. As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently Widely different embodiments of this invention couldbe made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended thatall matter contained in, the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted 'as illustrative and not in a limiting sense,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-propelled toy vehicle including a body, a driving motor assembled with the body, and propelling means operable by the motor and movably supported with'respect thereto to be movable bodily at recurrent intervals into and out of operative driving con nection with the motor to provide intermittent propulsion of the toy in response to continuous operation of the motor. 7

2. A self-propelled toy including a body, a motor assembled with the body, traction means intermittently operable by the motor to propel the body, and means operable by the motor during periods of rest of the traction 7 means to vibratethe body.

3. A self propelled toy including a body,

a motor assembled with the body, traction means operable by the motor to propel the body, and means operable by themotor in conjunction with the traction means to vibrate the body, and to shift said traction means and said vibrating means to alternate- Y ly actuate said traction means andsaid vibrating means upon continuous operation of the motor. j 7 '4. A toy includinga body, amotor assembled with said body, and means operable by the motor to vibratethe toy, said means being arranged for intermittent operative connection to the motor.

a 5. A toy vehicle including a chassis, a motor supported therefrom, and a pair of wheels 5 associated with said motor arranged for bodily movement with respect tosaid motor to intermittently establish operative connection between said motor and wheels.

6. A toy vehicle including a chassis, a motor assembly, a pair of wheels associated with said motor assembly,a pivoted wheel supporting frame arranged for pivotal movement with respect to said motor to intermittently establish operative connection between said motor and wheels, and means for, vibrating said vehicle carried by said frame for driving connection with said. motor upon pivotal movement of the frame to move the wheels from driving connection with the motor. 7. A toy vehicle including a chassis, a motor assembly, a pair of wheels associated with said motor assembly, a pivoted wheel supporting frame arranged for pivotal movement with respect to said motor to intermittently establish operating connection between i said motor and wheels, and means for vibrating said vehicle carried by said frame, including a star wheel rotatable by the motor ,tostrike the chassis to vibrate it upon pivotal movement of the frame.

8. A toy vehicle including a chassis, a motor assembly supported by the chassis, a driving gear for said motor assembly, a bracket pivotally associated withrsaid motor and including a geared driving axle arranged for operative connection with said driving gear upon pivotal movement of the bracket in one direction and a geared shaft to vibrate the vehicle associated with the bracket for movement therewith to operative connection with d the driving gear when the bracket moves to disengage the axle from operative connection therewith.

'9. A toyvehicle includinga chassis, a motor assembly supported by the chassis, adriving gear for said motor assembly, a bracket pivotally associated with said motor and includinga'geared driving axle arranged for operative connection with said driving gear upon pivotal movement of the bracket in one direction and a geared shaft to vibrate the vehicle associated with the bracket for movement therewith to operative connection with the driving gear when the bracket moves to disengage the "axle from operative connection with the driving gear, said vibrating shaft including an externally mounted star wheel, said chassis being provided with a transverse shaft so arranged in the path of the wheel that, upon rotation, the points of the to vibrate said chassis, a propelling motor, a pivotal conif necting support for said motor to provide for rocking movement of the body with respect to themotor, drive wheels on the chassis ioo ies

and means for intermittently connecting said drive wheels to the motor.

11. A self-propelled wheeled toy including a wheeled chassis, a propelling motor supported by said chassis by pivotal connecting means to provide for lateral rocking movement of the chassis with respect to the motor,

and a spring connect-ion means between said motor and chassis to resiliently limit rocking movement ofthe motor with respect to the chassis.

12. A self-propelled wheeled toy includ ing a chassis, a motor and driving assembly associated with said chassis, an independent- 1y mounted pair of wheels pivotally connected with said chassis to permit rocking move- 5 ment of said chassis with respect to said independent wheels, drive wheels on the chassis and means for intermittently connecting said drive wheels to the motor.

13. A self-propelled wheeled toy including a chassis, a propelling wheel assembly pivotally supported from the chassis, an independent wheel assembly pivotally supported from said chassis whereby said chassis may rockably move with respect to both wheel assemblies, a motor for the propelling wheel assembly and means controlled by said motor for intermittently connecting the propelling Wheel assembly in operative relation with the motor.

14. A self-propelled wheeled toy including a wheeled chassis, said chassis being centrally apertured, and a propelling motor for the wheels of said chassis, supported through the aperture of said chassis, the wheels of said chassis including drive wheels mounted for bodily movement to be connected and disconnected from said motor.

Signed at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, this 9th day of July,

SAMUEL I. BERGER. 

